What is Juicing?

Juicing is a process which extracts water and nutrients from produce and discards the fiber. Without all the fiber, your digestive system doesn’t have to work as hard to break down the food and absorb the nutrients. In fact, it makes the nutrients more readily available to the body in much larger quantities than if you were to eat the fruits and vegetables whole.

A word of Caution: When you remove the fiber from the produce, the liquid juice is absorbed into your blood stream quickly. If you are only juicing fruits, this could cause a rapid spike in blood sugar and unstable blood sugar levels can lead to mood swings, energy loss, memory problems and more!

While juicing removes the insoluble fiber, the soluble fiber remains. It provides a way for your body to better absorb enzymes that are typically locked away in the fiber matrix of whole fruits and vegetables

Pros – Natural nutrient-dense energy boost in 15mins. Can add many veggies into one cup.

Cons – Takes longer to make and longer to clean.

What about Blending?

Unlike juices, smoothies consist of the entire fruit or vegetable, skin, and all of the fiber from the fruit and vegetable. However, the blending process breaks the fiber apart (which makes the fruit and vegetables easier to digest) but also helps create a slow, even release of nutrients into the blood stream and avoids blood sugar spikes. Smoothies tend to be more filling, because of the fiber, and generally faster to make than juice, so they can be great to drink first thing in the morning as your breakfast, or for snacks throughout the day.

Pros – Can be a meal replacer, lots of creamy yummy combinations

Cons – Good blenders can be pricey, veggie smoothies are more like soups, blending is more for fruits.

Rules of Juicing and Blending

Buy your fruits and veggies organic. Non-organic produce uses a class of pesticides called Obesogens. They contain a class of chemicals that directly or indirectly affect our weight in ways that can result in obesity through the disruption of metabolic, hormonal, or developmentalprocesses (our endocrine system). These are chemicals that interfere with our body’s regulatory system which ultimately determines our metabolism, our weight, how our fat cells develop, appetite, and satiety cues.

It’s best to NOT combine fruits and vegetables (unless it’s apple). This can affect how well your digestive enzymes function.

Try to eat your juice or smoothie straight away. After 15 minutes, light and air will destroy much of the nutrients. If you can’t drink it straight away, transfer to a dark airtight container until you’re ready.

What to Juice?

Vegetables – leafy greens, roots, stems, bulbs,

Fruits – apples, pineapples, citrus, berries, kiwi, melons,

Don’t juice bananas, nuts, mangos, fungi, seeds, flowers, coconut

Stay away from juicing raw cabbage, collards, bok choy, kale and broccoli. All cruciferous veggies are goitrogenic, meaning they contain substances that suppress thyroid function when consumed raw. They may also cause gas, bloating and stomach upset in some folks. Don't get me wrong; the cruciferous have wonderful health benefits when cooked or lightly steamed. Cooking deactivates the goitrogens.

Use raw spinach, beet greens and chard sparingly. They contain oxalic acid, which can irritate the mouth and intestinal tract and block iron and calcium absorption. Oxalic acid has also been linked to the formation of kidney stones.

The best veggies to juice include the following:

Cucumbers, which are very cleansing and good for skin health.

Celery, anti-inflammatory and alkalizing; also said to lower blood pressure.

Beets, a super liver cleanser and great vegetarian source of iron.

Carrots, rich in beta-carotene, beneficial for eyesight, and also a great liver/gall bladder cleanser. Use caution with carrot juice, as it's also high in sugar.

Spinach (occasionally), high in iron, very alkalizing, and great for skin health.

Herbs are great, too; use parsley, cilantro (helps to chelate heavy metals), and ginger (good for digestion and cleansing). Throw in some raw garlic if you're brave or want to ward off vampires. It's great for immune health.

Turmeric – anti-inflammatory

Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene). They are also a very good source of vitamin C, manganese, copper, pantothenic acid and vitamin B6. Additionally, they are a good source of potassium, dietary fiber, niacin, vitamin B1, vitamin B2 and phosphorus.

Question: What is the difference between a masticating and a centrifugal juicer? If you're unfamiliar with the world of juice extractors, the first thing that you need to know is that juicers fall into two main categories: centrifugal juicers and masticating juicers. Centrifugal juicers are more commonplace, and in general, more affordable.